The speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, is to become the next chancellor of the University of Bedfordshire, it has been revealed in Parliament.

Speaking during Prime Minister¡¯s Questions today, MP for Mid-Bedfordshire, Nadine Dorries, offered her congratulations to Mr Bercow on his new position.

After thanking the speaker for giving her the floor, Ms Dorries said: ¡°May I take this opportunity to congratulate you on your new role as chancellor of Bedfordshire University.¡± A video of the exchange (above) was posted online by Alex Wickham, a reporter on the Guido Fawkes political blogging site.

Ms Dorries¡¯ congratulations came before any official announcement by the university, and it is unclear whether the appointment had been finalised when she made the comments. When ³ÉÈËVRÊÓƵ contacted the university earlier this afternoon, a spokesman was at first unable to confirm or deny the appointment.

³ÉÈËVRÊÓƵ

However, in a statement issued later, university vice-chancellor Bill Rammell confirmed that Mr Bercow, who is MP for Buckingham, would be installed as chancellor in June.

¡°John is a constituency neighbour of the university¡¯s main campuses, in Luton and Bedford, and in particular its newest location, University Campus Milton Keynes,¡± he said.

³ÉÈËVRÊÓƵ

¡°[He] is very committed to our mission to widen participation in higher education and he will be a tremendous ambassador for the university and our work in transforming lives and communities.¡±

Mr Bercow said he was ¡°delighted and honored¡± to be named chancellor.

The appointment means that the University of Bedfordshire will have a former Labour minister for universities as vice-chancellor, and the current speaker of the House of Commons as chancellor.

The current chancellor, Baroness Howells of St David¡¯s, who has been in the role since 2009, is to retire.

³ÉÈËVRÊÓƵ

chris.parr@tsleducation.com